Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Test Run
This coming weekend will be the moment I have been dreading since Aubrey's arrival 8 1/2 months ago. My friend Amber has invited me, along with a few other friends up to Amelia Island for a couple of days of girl time... and this means I have to leave Aubrey overnight for the first time. I can already feel my blood pressure rise and my eyes start to water and I am still a couple days away from actually going anywhere. I have never not been there to say good morning or been the last one she sees before she goes to bed. Don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY looking forward to going... but I know I'll feel like something is missing when I go to the pool with only a towel, instead of the usual load of diapers, stroller, floaty toys and variety of sunscreens.As to be expected, there are many things to be done to prepare for the weekend. Most importantly, getting Aubrey to go to sleep with Kevin. During the day she is a champ for someone else besides her mom, but at night we have an entirely different situation on our hands. So as we speak, Kevin is giving her a bath (which is arguably more fun for him than for Aubrey) and getting her ready for bedtime. The bottle is made, the pj's are laid out and mommy is hidden in the office typing away trying to tune out the crying... which sounds very much like, "Mommy, why are you abandoning me?"
We have talked about worse-case scenarios which all end up with her crying herself to sleep. It doesn't sound all that terrible, but we haven't had to do the "Cry it Out" thing for a long time... and it seems to be one of the awful phases of parenting that magically get erased from our memories (much like labor) so we'll have more children.
Happily, the crying seems to be dying down... wait... we have breaking news. Kevin has just reported success! She only drank 1/2 of her bottle, but she is fast asleep and only 15 minutes past her normal bedtime. I think we can declare victory!
I bet you'll come home and all will have gone great. Kevin may be a bit tired.....wait until you have to leave them at the door of their college dorm and then leave them there!!!